The cost of getting health insurance through work is now about $20,000

editor’s Note: This story was originally published on October 3, 2018

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Employers and employees together are spending nearly $20,000 for family health insurance coverage in 2018, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Although premiums have increased modestly in recent years, over time the increases have far outpaced workers’ wage increases. Kaiser’s employer health benefits survey found that average family premiums have increased 55% since 2008, twice the rate of workers’ wages and three times faster than inflation.

Companies buy the majority of the tabs and spend an average of $14,100 per year. Still, workers are paid an average of $5,550, a 65% increase from a decade ago.

For single coverage, total premiums reached $6,900, an average of 47% more than 2008. Workers contribute about $1,200 per year.

The cuts are also digging a deeper hole into workers’ pockets. The average deductible is now $1,350, up 212% from 2008. This is eight times faster than salary increases.

Moreover, more employees are subject to cuts – about 85% in 2018, compared to 59% a decade earlier. A quarter of all workers face cuts of at least $2,000, up 15% from five years ago.

Employers have instead sought to limit premium increases by increasing deductible amounts. But big cuts are one of Americans’ main complaints about their health coverage.

Kaiser’s Drew Altman said, “As long as out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, drugs, surprise bills and other things continue to exceed wage increases, people will remain frustrated with their medical bills and health costs will be a burden on their pocketbooks.” And will be seen as political issues.” chairman.

While employers have been trying to rein in health care costs for years, the issue has once again come into the spotlight.

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced earlier this year that they were teaming up to give their combined 840,000 employees better health care options and reduce costs for both their employees and their companies.

A growing number of companies are contracting directly with hospitals and providers to provide care for their employees, according to a National Business Group on Health study released in August. General Motors and Henry Ford Health System in Detroit recently established such a contract. The six-hospital system will provide approximately 24,000 salaried GM employees and their families access to more than 3,000 primary care and specialty doctors, as well as ambulatory, emergency room and pharmacy services.

Some employers are looking to limit their network to a few high-quality providers, which will help them reduce costs. According to a survey released earlier this year by PwC, a consulting firm, about 11% of companies said they have implemented these performance-based networks, up from 3% in 2014. Another 34% of firms said they were considering these networks.

However, employees have not yet adopted the new technology. According to the latest data available, only 0.51% of large employer plans had at least one telemedicine visit in 2016.

“A lot of companies are paying for telemedicine, but very few employees are using it,” said Matthew Rae, senior health policy analyst at Kaiser.